Last month the Otago Chess Club hosted the 2009 Otago Junior Championship, open to all players in the region under 20 years old at 1 January. Despite this, usually the oldest competitors are still at school and this year was no exception. A distinctive feature of this year's field was the presence of the two Rains brothers from Canterbury, who were competing for the experience (and prizes), if not eligible for the J.J. Marlow trophy and title of Otago Junior Champion.
Edward Rains (CBHS) started as top seed and duly won with 6/6, only being troubled in his game against David Moratti (OBHS), where he was a piece down for a long time before he prevailed. Second place was hotly contested and came down to the last-round game between Adam Scott and Charlie Ruffman, both of Logan Park HS: A tense game eventually decided by the touch-move rule, when Ruffman was forced to lose a rook after touching another piece. So Adam Scott took out clear second place on 5 points and title of Otago Junior Champion ahead of Joseph Brown (Balmacewen) on 4½ in third, who had a good result following his victory in the Primary/Intermediate championship two weeks earlier.
Today's game is taken from the Otago Club Championship, which is currently in progress. Hamish Gold brings off a fine win with the black pieces against the writer.
1.d4 d5 2.Nf3 Nf6 3.c4 c6 4.Nc3 e6 5.Bg5 Nbd7 6.e3 Bb4 7.Qc2 Qa5 8.Nd2 e5!?
An unusual move in an old line – the Cambridge Springs Defence. 9.dxe5 Nxe5!?
White's capture was the principled response, though Kramnik, no less, has played 9 Nb3 Qa4 10 Be2 with a good game as 10 ... e4 is not to be feared. Black's capture is another surprise, the most common move being 9 ... Ne4, but establishes a strong central post for the knight at the cost of doubled pawns. 10.Bxf6 gxf6 11.cxd5 Bxc3 12.Qxc3 ---
Hoping to take advantage of the weakened black pawns in the ending, but White's advantage lay in the relative insecurity of the black king if he had avoided the queen exchange by 12 bxc3! 12.--- Qxc3! 13.bxc3 cxd5 14.Bb5+ Ke7 15.f4 ---
The central knight could not be allowed to stay and made a striking contrast with White's knight hampered by the not-so-weak d-pawn. 15.--- Ng4 16.Ke2 a6 17.Bd3 f5!
Vacating the f6 square for the knight on the way to the e4 outpost. Although the black bishop appears hemmed in by its own pawns, here it is a case of a good 'bad' bishop, able to defend all the pawns leaving the knight and rooks free to attack. White realises his c-pawn will prove weaker than the d-pawn and so exchanges it. 18.c4! dxc4 19.Nxc4 Be6 20.h3?! ---
Wanting to free the rook from protecting h2, White misses a strong manouvre: 20 Na5! b5 21 Nc6+ Kf6 22 h3 forcing the less favourable retreat 22...Nh6. 20.--- Nf6 21.Rhb1 b5 22.Ne5 Rhg8
The doubled f-pawns look ugly, but they allow the black rooks access to attack the g2 pawn. 23.Kf2 Rac8! 24.a4 Ne4+ 25.Bxe4 fxe4 26.axb5? ---
Black has rightly been ignoring the attempts to win his queenside pawns and instead played to activate his rooks. White is now surprisingly lost – the only chance was to sacrifice his knight with 26 g4! f6 27 axb5 fxe5 28 bxa6 Rc2+ 29 Kg3 exf4+ 30 exf4 Rc3+ 31 Kg2 Bd5 32 a7 e3+ 33 Kf1 Ra8 and the passed a-pawn compensates for the lost piece. 26.--- Rc2+ 27.Kf1 Rgxg2! 28.bxa6 ---
There is no defence to the mating attack that follows – the rooks on the seventh rank plus bishop are too strong. 28.--- Rgf2+ 29.Kg1 Rg2+ 30.Kf1 Rh2 31.Kg1 Bxh3 32.Rb7+ Ke6 33.Rb6+ Kf5
White resigns – he can avert the mate in two (34 ... Rg2+ and 35... Rh1) and even promote his a-pawn, but to no avail: 34 Rf6+ Kxf6 35 Ng4+ Bxg4 36 a7 Bf3! 37 Ra6+ Kg7 38 a8=Q Rh1 mate.
Otago Junior Championship
Problem: White to play and mate in three.
Last month the Otago Chess Club hosted the 2009 Otago Junior Championship, open to all players in the region under 20 years old at 1 January. Despite this, usually the oldest competitors are still at school and this year was no exception. A distinctive feature of this year's field was the presence of the two Rains brothers from Canterbury, who were competing for the experience (and prizes), if not eligible for the J.J. Marlow trophy and title of Otago Junior Champion.
Edward Rains (CBHS) started as top seed and duly won with 6/6, only being troubled in his game against David Moratti (OBHS), where he was a piece down for a long time before he prevailed. Second place was hotly contested and came down to the last-round game between Adam Scott and Charlie Ruffman, both of Logan Park HS: A tense game eventually decided by the touch-move rule, when Ruffman was forced to lose a rook after touching another piece. So Adam Scott took out clear second place on 5 points and title of Otago Junior Champion ahead of Joseph Brown (Balmacewen) on 4½ in third, who had a good result following his victory in the Primary/Intermediate championship two weeks earlier.
Today's game is taken from the Otago Club Championship, which is currently in progress. Hamish Gold brings off a fine win with the black pieces against the writer.
1.d4 d5
2.Nf3 Nf6
3.c4 c6
4.Nc3 e6
5.Bg5 Nbd7
6.e3 Bb4
7.Qc2 Qa5
8.Nd2 e5!?
An unusual move in an old line – the Cambridge Springs Defence.
9.dxe5 Nxe5!?
White's capture was the principled response, though Kramnik, no less, has played 9 Nb3 Qa4 10 Be2 with a good game as 10 ... e4 is not to be feared. Black's capture is another surprise, the most common move being 9 ... Ne4, but establishes a strong central post for the knight at the cost of doubled pawns.
10.Bxf6 gxf6
11.cxd5 Bxc3
12.Qxc3 ---
Hoping to take advantage of the weakened black pawns in the ending, but White's advantage lay in the relative insecurity of the black king if he had avoided the queen exchange by 12 bxc3!
12.--- Qxc3!
13.bxc3 cxd5
14.Bb5+ Ke7
15.f4 ---
The central knight could not be allowed to stay and made a striking contrast with White's knight hampered by the not-so-weak d-pawn.
15.--- Ng4
16.Ke2 a6
17.Bd3 f5!
Vacating the f6 square for the knight on the way to the e4 outpost. Although the black bishop appears hemmed in by its own pawns, here it is a case of a good 'bad' bishop, able to defend all the pawns leaving the knight and rooks free to attack. White realises his c-pawn will prove weaker than the d-pawn and so exchanges it.
18.c4! dxc4
19.Nxc4 Be6
20.h3?! ---
Wanting to free the rook from protecting h2, White misses a strong manouvre: 20 Na5! b5 21 Nc6+ Kf6 22 h3 forcing the less favourable retreat 22...Nh6.
20.--- Nf6
21.Rhb1 b5
22.Ne5 Rhg8
The doubled f-pawns look ugly, but they allow the black rooks access to attack the g2 pawn.
23.Kf2 Rac8!
24.a4 Ne4+
25.Bxe4 fxe4
26.axb5? ---
Black has rightly been ignoring the attempts to win his queenside pawns and instead played to activate his rooks. White is now surprisingly lost – the only chance was to sacrifice his knight with 26 g4! f6 27 axb5 fxe5 28 bxa6 Rc2+ 29 Kg3 exf4+ 30 exf4 Rc3+ 31 Kg2 Bd5 32 a7 e3+ 33 Kf1 Ra8 and the passed a-pawn compensates for the lost piece.
26.--- Rc2+
27.Kf1 Rgxg2!
28.bxa6 ---
There is no defence to the mating attack that follows – the rooks on the seventh rank plus bishop are too strong.
28.--- Rgf2+
29.Kg1 Rg2+
30.Kf1 Rh2
31.Kg1 Bxh3
32.Rb7+ Ke6
33.Rb6+ Kf5
White resigns – he can avert the mate in two (34 ... Rg2+ and 35... Rh1) and even promote his a-pawn, but to no avail: 34 Rf6+ Kxf6 35 Ng4+ Bxg4 36 a7 Bf3! 37 Ra6+ Kg7 38 a8=Q Rh1 mate.
0-1
Solution: 1 Rc8+ Kh7 2 Qg6+! fxg6 3 hxg6#.